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Alden Gonzalez ESPN Staff Writer

Pretty big blow to the Rams, with receiver Tavon Austin doubtful for Sunday. He did not practice all week because of a chest injury. If he doesn't go, expect more snaps for rookie Pharoh Cooper, who has a similar skillset. DE Robert Quinn also didn't practice all week while in concussion protocol and is questionable. Rams coach Jeff Fisher said it popped up Monday, not during the game. LG Rodger Saffold (hand), C Tim Barnes (foot) and backup OL Andrew Donnal (hip) were limited Friday and are all questionable
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wouldn't mind getting a look at Pharoh .

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sport...38/?siteID=je6NUbpObpQ-mmmBblORqvwR7ywudoOmAw

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. (AP) — Greg Robinson's mother and grandmother were among more than 50 of his friends and family members in the Superdome stands last weekend to watch the Louisiana native's homecoming with the Los Angeles Rams.

Unfortunately, Robinson had to watch as well. He was deactivated by coach Jeff Fisher, who decided the Rams' prized left tackle needed a break from competition after an uneven season.

"I tried my best to support the team as much as possible, to show it really didn't bother me," Robinson said Wednesday after practice. "But deep down, it was frustrating. My mom and my grandmother didn't get to see me back home playing, and I don't know the next time when I'll be back in the Dome. But it was good to see my family and just to get them outside of the neighborhood, just to come together for once and do something in terms of supporting me."

Robinson was the No. 2 overall pick in the 2014 draft, chosen out of Auburn to be the pillar of the Rams' rebuilt offensive line. Instead, Robinson is deep into his third NFL season and still struggling to produce consistent play for an inconsistent offense.

This season alone, Robinson has committed 12 penalties — the most in the NFL by any offensive player. The problems culminated in Fisher's unusual decision to keep him out of uniform for a one-game mental reset.

"He's been great," Fisher said about Robinson. "He understands. Every once in a while, when you take a step back and watch what's going on and see things through a different window, it's life-changing. He is really excited right now. He's been in here early. He's staying late. He's focused. We've got some stuff behind him, and he's excited about playing."

Fisher didn't elaborate on his assertion that Robinson faced some "outside distractions" this year, instead praising the 6-foot-5 blocker for his recommitment to the team.

Robinson didn't sound quite as happy about the past week of his life.

"Things just weren't falling in line for us, so it's a decision they made, and all I can do is accept it," Robinson said. "It wasn't like I could tell them, 'No, I'm not sitting out.' I feel it was smart for him to allow me to take a break. I feel like I used it (to the) best of my ability, to just accept that task and try to move on."

Robinson had started 38 consecutive games for the Rams. He has returned to practice this week, and is likely to be back in the starting lineup for the Rams (4-7) on Sunday at New England — particularly since his replacement at New Orleans, guard Rodger Saffold, hurt his hand against the Saints.

Robinson knows he commits too many penalties, but he also provides a physical presence on the line while protecting Jared Goff's blind side. Goff was sacked three times in New Orleans, and the Patriots' pass-rush will be a test for Goff and his offensive line.

The Rams' offense has dropped back to 31st overall in the NFL after its 21-point effort against the Saints. The running game is 29th, but with just 83.1 yards per game.

Robinson seems eager to get back to work on a key five-game stretch for his career, regardless of the Rams' fortunes.

"I've been working on the same things since the season started," Robinson said. "I feel like I'm progressing in many ways, which a lot of people probably don't see. But as long as I know, I feel like I'm getting better, then I'm satisfied."

Former St. Louis Rams defensive end Chris Long will be playing his old team for the first time since departing during this past offseason for the New England Patriots.

http://ramblinfan.com/2016/12/01/chris-long-talks-rams-playing-meaningful-games/

Defensive end Chris Long was a valued member of the St. Louis (Now Los Angeles) Rams during his eight seasons with the team, and he will face his old squad for the first time in Week 13 since leaving during the offseason.

The split between the Rams and Long was understandable. Long, 31, had trouble staying healthy the past two seasons and was clearly past his prime.

The former No. 2 overall pick of the Rams was allowed to walk by the team because of considerable depth on the defensive line, and he ended up signing a one-year deal with the Patriots.

Chris Long Talks Rams Breakup

When asked about his leaving the Rams before the team moved to Los Angeles for the 2016 season, Long doesn’t hold any grudge against the team for letting him go, according to Jack Wang of the OC Register:

“I own up to not being myself those two years, injury is part of it and it’s part of the game,” he said. “I was getting paid too much to be gimping around and not playing like myself. It was just time and I totally understood when I got the call.

“I love them all the same. I respect those guys all the same. I’ve got no bitterness. For me, it’s very easy to move forward and have no ill will.”

What a good, honest assessment by Long of his last two years with the team. Despite his struggles in 2014 and 2015, Long went on a four-year run where he averaged over 10 sacks per season from 2010 to 2013 and was an important part of the Rams’ defense.

Jeff Fisher Praises Chris Long

Rams head coach Jeff Fisher had great things to say about Long, who he coached for four seasons:

“It was a difficult decision to part ways with Chris, because he’s one of my all-time favorites and a locker-room favorite and everything,” Fisher said. “But of all the places where one would think he would have a chance to be successful, it would be New England. So he landed on his feet and he’s playing well. … I’m happy that Chris is on a team that has won a lot of games, because he deserves that opportunity.”

In those four seasons, Long never played in an important game in December. In fact, he never played in important games late in the season during his entire St. Louis tenure, with the team owning a losing record in every season he was there.

Chris Long on Playing Meaningful Games

So, as you can probably guess, things are a bit different for Long in 2016 as the Patriots look to make the playoffs as the AFC’s No. 1 seed:

“It’s a new thing playing games in December that, they’ve got a different vibe to them,” Long said. “So I welcome that, for sure.”

Long has totaled just two sacks and 25 combined tackles for the Pats this season. It’s safe to say he’s probably excited for this matchup against the Rams at Gillette Stadium.

http://www.espn.com/blog/nflnation/post/_/id/223136/ranking-nfl-teams-most-affected-by-injuries

Injuries are a part of life in the NFL. No team is immune, and the best-case scenario amid such a violent game is that key players remain unaffected.

In Dallas, quarterback Dak Prescott and tailback Ezekiel Elliott have started all 12 games. Their elite offensive line has stayed mostly intact, and the Cowboys are 11-1.

Meanwhile, injuries to some of the best players on the Vikings’ roster remains the primary reason for Minnesota's six losses in seven games after a 5-0 start.

Which NFL teams have been affected most by injuries this season? What follows is a subjective list that attempts to connect team weaknesses to the personnel losses they've suffered.

1. Minnesota Vikings | Record: 6-6

It's remarkable the Vikings have won six games after losing their quarterback in August, their best player in Week 2 and both starting offensive tackles by Week 4. (Not to mention their offensive coordinator, who resigned in Week 9, and head coach, who had emergency surgery on a detached retina in his right eye Wednesday and did not coach against the Cowboys on Thursday night.)

Teddy Bridgewater, Adrian Peterson, Matt Kalil and Andre Smith on the field. Without them, they're on the periphery of the NFC wild-card race.

Bridgewater's dislocated knee will impact the Vikings for years. They surrendered two draft choices -- including their first-round pick in 2017 -- to acquire replacement Sam Bradford from the Philadelphia Eagles. Peterson's knee injury revealed thin backfield depth, and the Vikings are averaging just 2.96 yards per carry -- by far a league low.

Of course, it's unclear how good Peterson could have been behind a mangled offensive line, one that was so short-handed that veteran Jake Long was able to sign in Week 6 and start in Week 8. Long, naturally, was lost for the season (torn Achilles) in Week 10. Center Joe Berger, meanwhile, missed Thursday night's game against the Cowboys because of a concussion.

Vikings running backs are averaging 1.67 yards before contact per rush, lowest by far in the NFL and a sign of relatively little running room.

Mix in a lost season from defensive tackle Sharrif Floyd (knee), along with four missed games by punt returner Marcus Sherels (two touchdowns in 17 opportunities), and you have a team largely gutted by injuries.

2. Green Bay Packers | Record: 5-6

Two of the Packers' biggest weaknesses can be attributed directly to injuries.

An ankle ailment ended tailback Eddie Lacy’s season after five games, and backup James Starks missed four games because of a knee injury. Practice-squad promotion Don Jackson was lost for the season after three games due to a knee injury, and the Packers have been so short-handed they shifted receiver Ty Montgomery into the backfield. They have also shuffled through a series of veteran backups, including Knile Davis (since released) and Christine Michael.

In short, the Packers have by far the NFL's fewest rushing attempts (163), yards (615) and touchdowns by running backs (one) this season. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers, meanwhile, leads the league in dropbacks (502).

Defensively, the Packers have played four games without linebacker Clay Matthews, who now is suffering from a shoulder injury. They also have been short-handed at cornerback all season. Top cover man Sam Shields has played in only one game because of post-concussion symptoms. Damarious Randallmissed six games after groin surgery and Quinten Rollins (groin) missed three. Since Week 6, a period when all three corners missed time, the Packers have allowed the NFL's highest opposing QBR (76.4). They are 2-5 in that span.

3. Chicago Bears | Record: 2-9

It was reasonable to think the Bears would take a leap this season in coach John Fox's second year. But the injury karma began in the preseason when promising center Hroniss Grasu suffered a torn ACL. All-Pro guard Kyle Long played through a shoulder injury early on but was lost to a severe ankle injury after eight games. Fellow guard Josh Sitton has missed three games because of a variety of ailments.

The offense continued to take hits with an injury-forced rotation at quarterback. Jay Cutler’s sprained thumb led to five starts by backup Brian Hoyer, whose tenure ended after he broke his arm in Week 7. Cutler returned for three more games before right shoulder pain forced him to the sideline again in Week 11 and to injured reserve on Thursday. Matt Barkley, on the roster only because Connor Shaw broke his leg in the preseason, has taken over.

Promising receiver Kevin White managed to play in four games before foot surgery ended his season, and No. 1 receiver Alshon Jeffery is under NFL suspension. It should be no surprise, then, that the Bears rank No. 31 in offensive points per game (14.9) and have the fifth-worst team QBR (47.2).

Defensively, the Bears are missing some of their primary playmakers. Cornerback Kyle Fuller (knee) hasn't played yet, although he has returned to practice. Defensive end Lamarr Houston (knee) was lost in Week 2, and linebacker Danny Trevathan is questionable for the start of 2017 after tearing his patellar tendon.

With so many playmakers sidelined, the Bears defense is tied for the second-fewest forced turnovers (eight) in the NFL.

4. San Diego Chargers | Record: 5-6

The Chargers' triage tent has overflowed once again this season, beginning with top receiver Keenan Allen’s torn ACL in Week 1. They also have been hit hard at running back, where Branden Oliver (Achilles) was lost in the preseason and Danny Woodhead (knee) in Week 2.

Fortunately for the Chargers, Melvin Gordon has emerged as a reliable workhorse in the backfield, ranking second in the NFL with 234 carries. It has been more difficult to replace Allen and Whitehead in the passing game, and now leading receiver Tyrell Williams (51 receptions, 790 yards, five touchdowns) is dealing with a labrum injury. Veteran receiver Stevie Johnson(knee) and tight end Jeff Cumberland (Achilles) are two other potential weapons who haven't gotten on the field this season.

If the Chargers’ offense has been without some weapons, then its defense simply has been decimated. Their injured reserve list includes nose tackles Brandon Mebane and Sean Lissemore, defensive tackle Caraun Reid, linebacker Manti Te’o and cornerback Jason Verrett. And -- no surprise -- San Diego ranks No. 26 in the NFL in points allowed (26.5) per game.

5. Cleveland Browns | Record: 0-12

The Browns were not built to win the Super Bowl this season, and their roster was among the league's weakest even before the summer's first whistle. But whatever chance the Browns had to win a few games has been slashed by injuries at quarterback, offensive line and other positions.

The Browns, in fact, became the first team since 1987 to have six different players throw a pass in the first seven games of a season. (Note: NFL teams used replacement players during a strike in Weeks 4-6 that year.)

Injuries have sent Robert Griffin III(shoulder), Josh McCown(shoulder) and Cody Kessler(concussion) to the sideline at various times, forcing the Browns to use receiver Terrelle Pryor as an emergency quarterback while also pushing two players onto the field who began the season elsewhere: Kevin Hogan and Charlie Whitehurst.

Starting guards Joel Bitonio and John Greco are on injured reserve because of foot injuries. Center Cam Erving missed two games because of a bruised lung. And receiver Corey Coleman, the Browns' top draft pick, sat out six games because of a broken hand he suffered in practice. Among many other inglorious rankings, the Browns have the NFL's lowest team QBR (43.3) and the third-lowest average of offensive points per game (15.8).

The Browns weren't going to be awfully competitive even with their initial roster, but their run of injuries to significant players has been staggering nonetheless.

I'm going to call a moratorium on all NEW fire Fisher, Snead, KD threads. If you have something you want to post on the subject, find one of the other numerous threads on the subject and put it there. Simply search for Fisher in thread titles and I'm sure you'll find one.

I will try to keep up on these. It may not be daily and I will also probably be posting some trivia from the NFL as a whole. Good luck and have fun.

Note: These questions will change almost daily. I will unsticky them as soon as I post the answer.

OK so here is the deal. Years ago I found an LA Rams Trivia Game in a Goodwill. I pretty much bought it as a piece of memorabilia. Now with the Rams moving back, I thought it might make for a fun game for some of us old timers. Odd thing is that about 70% of the questions have nothing to do with the Rams.

So here is what I will do. I will post the questions that are Rams related and let you guys answer. I will then post the answers the next day. These are not easy questions as far as I can tell but maybe the memory function of my brain has been compromised.
.View attachment 11961
There is only basically one rule. No search engines or internet sites to look up answers that you will post later. I realize some will still look up the answers. I know I would if I didn't have the cards. But I want to see how many out there actually know the answers. So if you do feel like looking them up on the internet, just don't post the answers. Comment all you want.

Now - keep in mind. I said the internet is off limits. But if you have books, magazines, football cards, etc... feel free to use them. That may seem hypocritical but it's about time some of us got some use out of all that stuff we've bought over the years.

Cheers.

Practice Report 11/30: Benefiting from Break, Robinson Expected Back at LT

Myles Simmons


Last Sunday's game against New Orleans was different for Greg Robinson.

Earlier in the week, Rams head coach Jeff Fisher made the decision to temporarily replace the left tackle in the lineup with Rodger Saffold. As Fisher termed it, Robinson just needed the time off. While the young lineman clearly has ability, the mental mistakes and costly penalties had just piled up.

“Guys, sometimes in their career, need a break,” Fisher said Monday. “I know he refocused, he recharged, he rebooted and he’s ready to go.”

And so the 24-year-old Robinson, who had started 35 consecutive games for the Rams at left tackle, watched Los Angeles’ offense take on New Orleans from the sideline as one of the club’s seven inactive players. It was tough — especially considering Robinson is a Louisiana native and had numerous family members in attendance at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome — but the left tackle said he tried to make the most of the experience.

“It was the decision they made, and all I can do is just accept it. And it wasn’t like I could tell them, ‘No, I’m not sitting down,’” Robinson said after Wednesday’s practice. “So, if it was smart for him to allow me to take a break, I feel like I used it to the best of my ability, and just accepted what was at task, and just tried to move on.”

What made the experience a bit more challenging for Robinson was seeing Saffold leave the game with a hand injury in the second quarter.

“Yeah, on the sidelines it kind of got me down. But, like I said, there was nothing I could do about that,” Robinson said.

Offensive coordinator Rob Boras noted Robinson handled the situation well both leading up to and on Sunday.

“Anytime that you feel threatened, and you get something taken away, I think it refocuses your energy and channels your focus,” Boras said. “I think in communication with Greg, and just the guys that were on the sideline just talking about Greg’s energy, and what he was on the sideline, and how he handled the situation, I think spoke volumes. He didn’t pout, he handled it, he was communicating, making calls.”


As the Rams get set to take on the Patriots this Sunday, Fisher has said he expects Robinson to be back in his starting role at left tackle.

“I’m doing fine. Like I said from the beginning — all I can do is get better. It’s coaches’ decisions, and it’s a business at the end of the day,” Robinson said. “So take it how it comes, and just continue trying my best to get better each day.”

The head coach has noticed some encouraging signs from Robinson in terms of preparation this week.

He’s been great. He understands,” Fisher said Wednesday. “Every once in a while, when you take a step back and watch what’s going on and see things through a different window — it’s life-changing.

“He is really excited right now. He’s been in here early, he’s staying late, he’s focused,” Fisher continued. “We’ve got some stuff behind him and he’s excited about playing.”

In his third season, Robinson said he feels like he’s progressed throughout the year — acknowledging that it may not seem that way to many. And now that he’s expected to line up at his regular spot once again, Robinson said he’s focusing on making sure he knows exactly what to do on each play.

“Honestly, I’m playing full speed, I feel. But there’s sometimes I’m just moving a little slower in getting to my spots. But that’s just something that I need to spend a little extra time studying and making sure I can get to those spots a little faster,” Robinson said.

“He’s embracing it right now,” Fisher said. “It’s a combination of technique, it’s a combination of some outside distractions and some misunderstandings – maybe a little lack of preparation. By all accounts right now, he’s ready to go play, so I’m proud of him.”


And that won’t be the easiest of tasks against a formidable opponent like the Patriots. New England head coach Bill Belichick and his staff are known for their ability to craft team-specific gameplans. Robinson said offensive line coach Paul Boudreau has been stressing that fact in the classroom.

“I was speaking with coach ‘Bou’ and he’s said in meetings that Belichick just shows different things that we probably won’t see, and it varies with different teams,” Robinson said. “So I feel like all we can do is put our heads down and grind and just keep chipping on it. And hopefully we come through with the ‘W,’ because we really need it.”

INJURY REPORT

The Rams listed five players on their injury report, none of whom participated in Wednesday’s session.

Wide receiver Tavon Austin (chest), center Tim Barnes (foot), offensive lineman Andrew Donnal (hip), defensive end Robert Quinn (concussion), and offensive lineman Rodger Saffold (hand) did not practice.


Though he left the matchup with New Orleans in the second quarter and did not return, Fisher said Saffold has not been ruled out for Sunday’s game in New England.

[www.therams.com]

http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/...e-los-angeles-2017?ex_cid=espntw&sf44434668=1

Chargers expected to exercise option for L.A. move, sources say
Eric D. Williams/ESPN Staff Writer

SAN DIEGO -- Barring a miracle, the San Diego Chargers are expected to exercise the team's option to move to Los Angeles in 2017, sources told ESPN's Jim Trotter.

During the NFL owners meetings in January, in which the league approved the relocation of the Rams to Los Angeles, the Chargers were granted the option to relocate to L.A. with a deadline of Jan. 15, 2017.

Chargers chairman Dean Spanos has to alert the league that he intends to exercise that option by next month's deadline.

The Chargers received only 43 percent approval on Measure C in November. The team's $1.8 billion plan proposed raising hotel taxes from 12.5 percent to 16.5 percent to secure $1.15 billion in bonds to help pay for the stadium project.

The citizens' ballot initiative required two-thirds of the voting public within city limits to approve the project, an extremely high bar for the team to reach.

"Dean has said that he wants everyone to be able to focus on the remainder of the Chargers' season, and so [he] won't be making any final decisions until after the season is over," said Mark Fabiani, the point person on the stadium situation for the Chargers. "That hasn't changed."

The Chargers have a tenant-lease agreement with Rams owner Stan Kroenke that lowers the team's risk because they do not have to borrow money for construction of the $2.6 billion project.

The Rams and Chargers would jointly share revenue such as naming rights, suites, sponsors and advertising. The teams would be on their own to sell season tickets and personal seat licenses.

Kroenke has motivation to complete a deal with the Chargers, because he cannot begin selling personal seat licenses until reaching a decision on whether the Chargers or Raiders will relocate to Los Angeles.

However, the risk for Spanos is that the franchise would be on the hook for a $650 million relocation fee paid over 10 years, determined during the January owners meeting in Houston.

The Chargers also would have to purchase land and construct a practice facility, which would cost tens of millions of dollars.

NFL owners discussed the Raiders moving to Las Vegas during a committee meeting in New York in November. Raiders owner Mark Davis has told the league he plans on filing for relocation to move his franchise to Las Vegas in January.

The Raiders' and the Chargers' stadium situation will be up for discussion at a December NFL owners meeting in Dallas.

Still not enough but it would be a start.
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http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.co...ing-daily-discussions-on-full-time-officials/

Troy Vincent: NFL having daily discussions on full-time officials
Posted by Michael David Smith on December 1, 2016

AP

A month ago, Saints coach Asshole Face laid out his case for full-time officials in an appearance on PFT Live. Since then, the subject has been much discussed around the NFL.

In fact, it’s been discussed every day in the league office, according to Troy Vincent, the league’s V.P. of football operations.

“This is a topic of discussion daily,” Vincent told the Associated Press.

Those daily discussions have led the league to conclude that it should hire up to 17 full-time officials this offseason, Vincent said. That would be enough to have one full-timer on every officiating crew. The NFL is also considering increasing the size of crews from seven to eight.

NFL V.P. of Officiating Dean Blandino said after Payton made his case for full-time officials that the idea has merit. Hiring 17 full-timers is still a long way from making all of the officials in the league full-timers, but the league may be heading in that direction.

No words, beyond sad.

A shooting in Terrytown Thursday afternoon (Dec. 1) left a man dead after an argument at an intersection, according to the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office.

Family members at the scene identified the victim as Joe McKnight, a former NFL player and local high school football standout. McKnight, 28, who went to John Curtis Christian School in River Ridge, played college football for USC, and then went on to play for the New York Jets and Kansas City Chiefs. He also played in the Canadian Football League.

A 2010 photo of Joe McKnight of the New York Jets. (AP Photo)NFL
The shooting, reported about 3 p.m., occurred at the intersection of Behrman Highway and Holmes Boulevard.

A witness, who declined to give her name, said she was leaving a store in the area when she saw a man at the intersection yelling at another man, who was trying to apologize. The man who was yelling shot the other man more than once, she said.

She said the shooter shot the man, stood over him and said "I told you don't you f--- with me." Then he fired again, she said.

The victim's body was on Behrman Highway, surrounded by a shield.

For more on this developing story, click here

Anyone plan on watching this game tonight?
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http://www.upi.com/Sports_News/NFL/...redictions-preview-pick-to-win/3161480614241/

Minnesota Vikings vs Dallas Cowboys: Predictions, preview, pick to win
Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer will not coach against Dallas after new surgery to repair a detached retina in his eye.
By The Sports Xchange

FOX Sports

MINNEAPOLIS, Dec. 1 (UPI) -- KICKOFF: Thursday, 8:25 p.m. ET, U.S. Bank Stadium, Minneapolis, Minn. TV: NBC, Al Michaels, Cris Collinsworth, Michele Tafoya.

SERIES HISTORY: 23rd regular-season meeting. Series tied, 11-11. Vikings are 5-7 against the Cowboys at home in the regular season, but this is the first meeting at new U.S. Bank Stadium. The Cowboys won the last meeting, a 27-23 decision in Dallas in 2013. The teams have met seven times in the playoffs. Dallas leads the series, 4-3.

The last postseason meeting came in January 2010. The Vikings won 34-3 in what remains their last playoff victory. The teams split two NFC Championship games, the Vikings winning 27-10 in 1973 and the Cowboys winning 23-6 in 1977. But Minnesotans are still complaining about the 1975 divisional playoff contest at old Met Stadium. They're still upset about Drew Pearson pushing off on the historic Hail Mary touchdown catch from Roger Staubach in that 17-14 loss to Dallas.

KEYS TO THE GAME: Minnesota Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer will not coach Thursday night against Dallas after a third eye surgery in 30 days to repair a detached retina in his right eye.

Special teams coach Mike Priefer will serve as head coach as the Vikings host the Dallas Cowboys. General manager Rick Spielman said the Vikings will reassess the coaching role Friday. Zimmer had a torn retina in his right eye repaired following an Oct. 31 game at Chicago.

This will be the NFL's first 2016 game in December and historians will note that the Cowboys have only two winning Decembers over the last 14 years -- 3-2 in 2012 and 4-0 in 2014. Since the 1995 Super Bowl season, the Cowboys are 34-47 in December.

But that was all before Dallas had running back Ezekiel Elliott, the rookie phenom who dominates games and leads the league with 1,199 yards rushing. This keeps fellow rookie QB Dak Prescott in comfortable down-and-distance situations behind the best offensive line in football.

The Cowboys enter this game riding a franchise-best 10-game winning streak with a chance to clinch a playoff berth. If the Cowboys beat the Vikings and if the Washington Redskins (6-4-1) lose or the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-5) lose or tie, Dallas is in the playoffs.

Conversely, the Vikings, who began the season 5-0 behind replacement quarterback Sam Bradford, have lost five of their last six games to fall out of realistic playoff contention. Their future Hall of fame running back, Adrian Peterson, is still on IR (knee surgery), although he ran on the side during practice Tuesday; the offensive line is down to its third and fourth tackles, and No. 1 center Joe Berger is out (concussion) so second-year, undrafted hopeful Nick Easton debuts as a starter. It will be Minnesota's sixth OL combination in 12 games.

On the positive side, leading WR Stefon Diggs (67 catches for 747 yards), who sat out last week with a knee injury, returned to limited practice Tuesday, was listed as questionable Wednesday but is expected to give it a go Thursday..

The Vikings' defense is 14th in the league against the run (yielding 100.2 yards a game); but, if it can slow down Elliott, the offense may have a chance to keep pace with the Cowboys. The Dallas defense is inexperienced at defensive back and does not have a takeaway in four games, with only 10 all season. The Cowboys rank 28th in sacks (20) and 30th in pass defense (280.4 ypg).

And there is this: Bradford won his last meeting with the Cowboys. Of course, that was with the Philadelphia Eagles last November, when the Cowboys were on the way to a 4-12 finish. Bradford completed 25 of 36 passes for 295 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions in a 33-27 win.

MATCHUPS TO WATCH:

--Vikings KR Cordelle Patterson vs. the Cowboys' special teams. The Vikings don't have much offense, so they count on big plays from special teams. Patterson leads the NFL with a kick-return average of 31.3 yards and has a return of 100-plus yards for a score. Marcus Sherels is one of two returners who have brought back punts for scores. The Cowboys must tackle, but kicker Dan Bailey and punter Chris Jones must be wary of their placement of the ball.

--Vikings TE Kyle Rudolph vs. Cowboys LBs Damien Wilson and Sean Lee. Rudolph isn't the receiving threat that Washington TE Jordan Reed is, but he is becoming a bigger part of the offense and a more comfortable target for QB Sam Bradford. The Cowboys will mix coverages on Rudolph if he begins to hurt them, but they should start out with a lot of Cover-2 with linebackers and safeties responsible for the seams.

Lee leads the Cowboys with 124 tackles, including 20 against the Redskins last week. Rudolph will be challenged to shake Lee's quickness and sound tackling on the shorter passes the Vikings have been throwing regularly.

WEDNESDAY INJURY REPORT

COWBOYS

--OUT: CB Morris Claiborne (groin), LB Justin Durant (hamstring), T Chaz Green (back), S J.J. Wilcox (thigh)

--QUESTIONABLE: S Barry Church (forearm), DE Jack Crawford (foot), DE David Irving(illness), DE Demarcus Lawrence (back), LB Sean Lee (illness), DT Terrell McClain (thigh), T Tyron Smith (back, hip)

VIKINGS

--OUT: C Joe Berger (concussion), DT Sharrif Floyd (knee), CB Marcus Sherels (rib).

--DOUBTFUL: CB Mackensie Alexander (groin)

--QUESTIONABLE: WR Stefon Diggs (knee), CB Terence Newman (neck).

PLAYER SPOTLIGHT: Vikings NT Linval Joseph. For the Vikings to have any chance of competing with the Cowboys, they must stop running back Ezekiel Elliott and Dallas' dominant offensive line. To do that, Joseph has to play like he did last season before a turf toe injury sidetracked what was shaping up to be an All-Pro type of season.

If Joseph doesn't set the tone in the middle of the defense against standout center Travis Frederick, the entire defense could crumble behind him. Elliott would run free and quarterback Dak Prescott could take advantage of favorable down and distances.

Joseph, a former Giant, has played the Cowboys six times, and his four sacks against the Cowboys are the most against a single opponent. He also has 17 tackles, three tackles for loss and a forced fumble against Dallas.

FAST FACTS: Cowboys QB Dak Prescott leads NFL rookies in passing yards (2,835), TDs (18) and rating (108.6). ... Dallas WR Dez Bryant has 49 TD catches since 2012, most in the NFL. ... Dallas TE Jason Witten ranks second all-time among TEs with 1,072 receptions and 11,768 yards. ... Dallas DE DeMarcus Lawrence has seven sacks in the past seven road games. LB Sean Lee is second in the NFL with 105 tackles. ...

Vikings QB Sam Bradford has thrown for 1,261 yards, seven TDs and no interceptions in five games at home. ... Vikings TE Kyle Rudolph's five TD catches are tied for the lead among NFC tight ends. ... Minnesota S Harrison Smith seeks a 12th consecutive game with six tackles, and his 390 tackles since 2012 are second among NFC safeties.

PREDICTION: This could be a trap game for the Cowboys, wedged between a pair of NFC East battles -- last Thursday's 31-26 shootout over Washington and a Dec. 11 visit to the surging New York Giants. While that might set the stage for a dramatic prime-time show, the Vikings' offense (294.9 ypg) has not shown the ability to keep up with Dallas (407.6 ypg).

OUR PICK: Cowboys, 32-24.

--Frank Cooney

Since the Martz offense is diametrically opposed to the Fisher philosophy of running the ball to set up the pass, he will never coach for the Rams as long as Jeff Fisher is in charge. In fact, even if Fisher gets canned, it's unlikely that Mike Martz would get hired due to his rep for not playing nice with others. Besides, MM is 65 and hasn't shown much interest in taking a lower position than head coach.

Then why start this thread? Because it should be fascinating for any Rams fan or any fan of the game, to read how this man set the league on its ear with the GSOT. Yeah, he had some great players to work with but those were his play designs. We should wonder what he could do with Goff and Gurley who are so young and talented.

It also goes to show how the ground-and-pound offense has been left in the dust, and why a change needs to happen quickly, at the very least with the OC position.
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http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/revisiting-the-greatest-show-on-turf/



Revisiting The Greatest Show On Turf
By Neil Paine

Fifteen years ago, Mike Martz had a radical notion: “Why does the run have to set up the pass?”

That, according to Sports Illustrated’s Peter King, was the question the new St. Louis Rams offensive coordinator posed to his head coach, Dick Vermeil, as they prepared for the coming NFL season in June 1999. It was to be Vermeil’s third in St. Louis, and judging from the press clippings, probably his last if things didn’t change in a hurry. Over the previous two seasons, Vermeil had coached the Rams to 23 losses and only nine wins, with an offense that ranked 23rd out of 30 NFL teams in passing efficiency and 26th in scoring.

Then came Martz. “I don’t know of any assistant coach that came in, at any one time, in any one program, and made as big a contribution as Mike did at that time,” Vermeil said in a recent interview. In his estimation, Martz’s contribution to the Rams was equivalent to that of a first-round pick — and that’s not a hard case to make. Upon Martz’s arrival, the Rams went from laughingstocks to Super Bowl champs with an explosive attack that came to be known as the “Greatest Show on Turf.”

It was, at the time, the third-most potent scoring offense and the second-most efficient passing attack the league had seen in its modern incarnation. And of even more historical significance, the Rams did it before the league became fixated on throwing the ball.

While the longtime mantra of football coaches everywhere had been to “establish the run” before passing, Martz’s plan was to aggressively pass the ball until the Rams had a lead worth protecting with the run. Stocked with speed everywhere and willing to throw in any situation, the Greatest Show on Turf proved that pass-first teams could win championships, and it heralded the passing fireworks we see in the NFL today.

“If you go back and look at the other teams of that era, the ‘conventional’ teams that you were competing with, [the Rams were] the aberration of the day,” said former Baltimore Ravens coach and current NFL Network analyst Brian Billick, whose head-coaching debut came against the Rams in their 1999 regular-season opener. “St. Louis was so far ahead. It’s hard to say [they were] ‘pass-happy’ because they actually ran the ball pretty well,” he said. “But there’s no question they wanted to throw the ball.”

As Billick noted, St. Louis still could run effectively — running back Marshall Faulk racked up the NFL’s fifth-most rushing yards in 1999 — but that wasn’t the team’s focus. The Rams anticipated what statistical analysts would eventually come to learn about football: Teams run when they win; they don’t win when they run.

After using all that passing to build early leads, St. Louis rushed on the league’s sixth-largest proportion of its second-half plays — and no team devoted more of its fourth-quarter plays to running the ball. Martz had successfully flipped conventional football wisdom on its head, using the pass to set up the run just as he had set out to do.

And ever since the Greatest Show on Turf hit the NFL scene, the league has trended toward ever more (and more effective) passing, further enabled by rule changes designed to incentivize every team to spread the field and throw the ball aggressively.



The genesis of the Rams’ aggressive strategy came when Martz was coaching quarterbacks for the Washington Redskins a year earlier. As ESPN analyst Ron Jaworski tells the story in his book “The Games That Changed The Game,” Martz realized that his pass-heavy third-down play packages were too effective to be confined to such a narrow situation. “Since we both love these plays so much,” Martz asked head coach Norv Turner, “why can’t we run them whenever we want? Why wait till third down?”

“So what happened was that we decided to run these third-and-long plays regardless of down and distance or field position,” Martz told Jaworski. “To us it simply didn’t matter anymore. This kept defenses guessing — they couldn’t zero in on our tendencies, personnel packages, or formations, because they’d always have to be ready for the big pass.”

Armed with such convention-breaking ideas, Martz represented the most revolutionary branch of the coaching tree originally planted by retired San Diego Chargers coach Don Coryell. Martz’s preferred offensive system, nicknamed “Air Coryell” for its emphasis on defense-stretching pass plays, wasn’t new; as the name implied, the system was first developed by Coryell in the 1960s at San Diego State, and later used to great effect at the NFL level by the Chargers of the early ’80s. But it had never been taken to the extremes Martz envisioned upon joining the Rams staff.

During the 1998 season, just three teams passed on more than 50 percent of their first-down plays. Running the West Coast Offense under coach Mike Holmgren, the Green Bay Packers threw in a league-high 57 percent of those situations — but gained an average of only 5.8 yards per attempt.

This was an artifact of the West Coast’s philosophy, which had overtaken the league in the two decades since its creation by legendary coach Bill Walsh. Similar to Coryell’s scheme, Walsh’s offense emphasized passing over rushing, but it focused on stretching the field horizontally with short passes as a means of ball control. By contrast, Martz wanted to throw early and often, but also sought to stretch the field with deep passing.

“If you’ve got a Mercedes,” Martz said at the time, “you don’t keep it in the garage.”

After an offseason overhaul, the Rams possessed the football equivalent of German engineering under the hood. First, they signed accurate passer Trent Green to conduct Martz’s mad experiment from behind center. Then, capitalizing on a brewing contract dispute with the Indianapolis Colts, St. Louis heisted Faulk in a trade, giving up just a pair of draft picks for the league’s best all-around running back.

Days later, they used the sixth overall pick in the draft on Torry Holt, anticipating a productive pairing at wide receiver with former Pro Bowler Isaac Bruce returning from injury. Even the role players, such as second-year receiver Az-Zahir Hakim, had otherworldly speed.

Vermeil was already a longtime Air Coryell believer, and had been trying to install the offense in St. Louis for two years, but lacked the proper personnel. “We had the foundation of it, installed by [former offensive coordinator] Jerry Rhome, the first two years I was there,” Vermeil told me.

“I had actually limited [the playbook’s] growth my second year there because we couldn’t complete in the high 60 percent of our throws. So I instructed people to cut back in the volume, hoping that we could improve the execution and the completion percentage.”

With Martz, Faulk, Bruce, Green and Holt in place, such cutbacks were no longer necessary. In the preseason of 1999, Green completed 28 of 32 passes (88 percent) before suffering a season-ending knee injury in the team’s third game. When unheralded backup Kurt Warner stepped in, Vermeil said, Martz and the coaching staff “made no adjustments” to the offensive scheme.

True to Vermeil’s expectations, Warner ended up completing 65.1 percent of his passes, which at the time was the third-best single-season completion percentage by any quarterback ever. In addition, the Rams came within striking distance of the 1989 San Francisco 49ers’ mark for the NFL’s second-most efficient passing offense since the merger.

More importantly, the Rams proved that a team could win without establishing the ground game before unleashing holy terror through the air. On first downs, St. Louis passed a league-high 59 percent of the time, and gained 7.6 yards per attempt on those throws (11 percent more than the NFL average on all attempts that year) and scored a touchdown on 7.4 percent of them (almost twice the league average across all attempts).

On the whole, the Rams passed 5.4 percent more than would be expected from their +9.1 average in-game scoring margin — still the biggest disparity by any Super Bowl winner since the merger.



“The spread-out type of system, it really did begin with them, because they were so explosive,” Billick told me. “It was a little bit different [from their contemporaries], but they were very successful with it. Kurt Warner made it work, and they spread you out in a way that very few teams could spread you out — that looks, today, very familiar.”

Although no one knew it at the time, the Rams were at the leading edge of something that was about to take over pro football. The NFL’s average passer rating in 1999 was 75.1 — essentially the same as it had been for a decade — and Warner’s 109.2 rate led the league by a mile. It was, at the time, the second-highest single-season mark ever.

Within five years, though, the league-average rating had eclipsed 80.0 for the first time ever, with two players surpassing Warner’s rating from 1999. By last season, the average NFL passer rating was 84.1, with Warner’s 1999 mark dropping to 10th all time.

Because of their sheer effectiveness, pass-first offensive philosophies have gone from the vanguard (see Coryell’s Chargers, or the various Run-and-Shoot teams of the ’90s) to commonplace over the last 15 years.

The conventional narrative is that Bill Belichick’s New England Patriots finally solved Martz’s offense in Super Bowl XXXVI, limiting the Rams to 17 points by making Faulk a non-factor. But St. Louis still moved the ball well in the loss, amassing 427 total yards while Faulk notched 130 yards from scrimmage.

And after a disastrous 7-9 season in 2002, a reloaded version of the Greatest Show on Turf emerged behind another obscure QB (Marc Bulger) to tie for second in the NFL in scoring during the 2003 season.

The true end came later, as the Rams’ talent scattered. Faulk retired in 2006, while Bruce, Holt and All-Decade left tackle Orlando Pace donned unfamiliar uniforms in their twilight years. Martz took his system to Detroit, San Francisco and Chicago, garnering mixed reviews when lesser talents were plugged in.

To the coaches, then, the Greatest Show on Turf was really about the perfect marriage of a high-powered strategy and a gifted roster.

“This game has been, is now, and always will be about talent,” Billick said. “Taking nothing away from the system, you’re talking about Hall of Famers like Marshall Faulk, Kurt Warner — who I believe will be in the Hall of Fame — the talents of an Isaac Bruce and Torry Holt … These were unique talents that the system adapted to very, very well.”

Vermeil concurred. “Very few teams ever have that kind of skill, at one time, on their side of the line of scrimmage,” he said.

It was those players who allowed Martz’s progressive game-planning to thrive, and it was his system that showcased their skills. His fingerprints can still be seen on the league 15 years later.

Thanks to Grantland’s Chris Brown for help with this article.

Don't know the person doing the video had never seen any of his work before this but I saw this on reddit and thought it was a very fair assessment of his good and bad from the game.

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According to NFL.com

Having back surgery.

One of the best tightends ever but we will take what we can get. One less weapon to worry about.

MODERATOR EDIT: Report that Gronk is out for season here; http://www.ramsondemand.com/threads/rob-gronkowski-out-for-a-few-weeks.47636/#post-838340

Looks like the Rams have issues health issues @ left OT post. With Safford & Donnal out of practice. Would appear GRob's number will be heard from & often in New England. The Drive Killer is most likely back!

DE Rob Quinn being concussed its his second official one. Rob had a bit of bad luck over the last two seasons with knee, hip, back surgery, shoulder, illness /hospital & now a concussion.

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http://mmqb.si.com/mmqb/2016/12/01/atlanta-falcons-dan-quinn-collapse-nfl-notes

Rams’ offensive line problems persist
by Albert Breer

Todd Gurley has rushed for 641 yards on 200 caries in his second season, and the Rams’ supposed offensive centerpiece didn’t suddenly forget how to run the ball. Jared Goff didn’t get into the lineup until late November, and his readiness for the NFL isn’t the only reason why. The problem here is deeper and won’t be easy to fix.

The offensive line is an unmitigated mess, and the offensive design hasn’t been creative enough to mask it. The situation boiled over last week when former second overall pick Greg Robinson was scratched for the team’s loss in New Orleans.

At Robinson’s pro day in 2014, his coaches warned teams that it’d take the physically imposing prospect time to learn to play in the pros, given that Auburn was only running a handful of run plays and a handful of protections. The fact is, Robinson hasn’t shown the mental capacity to get there since, and that has led to growing problems with consistency and penalties.

“He’s not instinctive, and he panics at the top of the rush,” said one Rams source. “That’s why you see the dumb penalties. A lot of the penalties come when they’re not really necessary.” And that has prevented Robinson from leveraging his athleticism, which remains considerable.

Elsewhere, the Rams are starting 2015 draft picks Jamon Brown, Cody Wichmann and Rob Havenstein, and had right tackle Rodger Saffold (who signed a lucrative five-year deal in 2014) flip sides against the Saints.

Add it up, and there has been a major investment made in making that area better. And the fact that there’s been so little progress there has spilled over to affect players like Gurley and Goff, which certainly means that there could be changes coming after the season in positions that aren’t just filled by players.

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Q Rodger Saffold

LA
9 hours ago
Saffold (hand) is scheduled for surgery on his injured hand this week, Rich Hammond of the Orange County Register reports.

EDGE Analysis
Saffold injured his hand last Sunday against the Saints. Despite being scheduled for surgery, head coach Jeff Fisher hasn't ruled the offensive lineman out for this week's game against New England.

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Some of the quips below had me rollin lol...

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